Vol. 35 – 2009 - Ecologia Mediterranea - Université d'Avignon et des ...

pool in the cold winter months, whereas the
newt larvae appeared in the spring, with the
warming up of the water. Occasionally, there
were short overlapping periods in which larvae
of both species were observed. The life
cycle, including the maturation stage of
amphibian species in Israel, varies among
breeding sites and is affected by the water
parameters of the sites, as well as by the climate
and altitude (Degani 1996; Degani &
Mendelssohn 1983; Pearlson & Degani
2008).
We found that among the various biotic and
abiotic parameters, temperature was a major
factor. Freidenburg and Skelly (2008)
reported data supporting their hypothesis that
wood frog (Rana sylvatica) populations
undergo localized selection leading to counter
gradient patterns of thermal preference behaviour.
A large number of environmental variables
were examined in the present study to
characterise the water quality at the breeding
sites, due to the difficulty in foreseeing factors
that may influence the selection of a certain
water body as a breeding habitat. The
range in water quality of sites occupied by larvae
of various amphibians was very narrow.
The importance of the temperature, as compared
to other parameters of habitats and
breeding sites selected by amphibians, is supported
by other studies (Bancroft et al. 2008;
Ficetola & De Bernardi 2005). Egea-Serrano
et al. (2006; 2006) showed that reproduction
of Alytes dickhilleni is associated with the
variable topography of the macrohabitat and
the water body typology. This finding is in
agreement with the results of previous
research on amphibian larvae in northern
Israel (Degani & Kaplan 1999), as well as in
studies in other parts of the world (Warkentin
1992). Here, we focused on the different
breeding sites of amphibians in one area of
northern Israel in which all six of Israel’s
amphibian species are found, although they
breed in different types of aquatic habitats.
Some species, e.g., S. infraimmaculata larvae,
were found in all types of water bodies, with
the water temperature (below 20 o C) being the
most important determining factor. However,
the B. viridis larvae, which grew in a temperature
range similar to that of S. infraimmaculata
larvae, existed mainly in winter ponds.
This information might demonstrate that not
only the water composition, but also other
parameters, e.g. prey compotation, affect the
presence of the larvae in the breeding sites.
ecologia mediterranea – Vol. 35 – 2009
Breeding site selection according to suitability for amphibian larval growth
under various ecological conditions in the semi-arid zone of northern Israel
Figure 4 – The abiotic parameters of the water at various breeding sites
where larvae grow and complete metamorphosis.
Nevertheless, a more detailed study is necessary
for better understanding. The H. savignyi,
B. viridis, T. vittatus and P. syriacus
were found in winter ponds at higher temperatures,
during the spring and at the beginning
of summer. Only R. bedriagae larvae were
witnessed during the summer time in the
aquatic habitat. All of these findings are supported
by previous studies, which examined
the biotic and abiotic parameters in one winter
pond (Degani 1982; Degani 1986). The
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